Douglas Alexander: “I rise in support of the antipiracy amendment that the Senator from Virginia just discussed and of which I am proud to…”

“I rise in support of the antipiracy amendment that the Senator from Virginia just discussed and of which I am proud to be a cosponsor. I am delighted that Senator Biden from Delaware, Senator Graham from South Carolina, and other Members of the Senate are either cosponsors or interested in this amendment. The Senator from Virginia has explained, very clearly, why this is important, why it is important to authorize the State Department to establish an antipiracy program that will help foreign governments establish and protect intellectual property rights. It authorizes $5 million for the program, which is an important amount, a good start, but a relatively small amount in the overall bill. The antipiracy program, as the Senator from Virginia explained, would help protect American intellectual property abroad by, first, providing equipment and training for foreign law enforcement of intellectual property rights; second, train judges and prosecutors; and, third, assist foreign governments in complying with obligations under appropriate international copyright and intellectual property treaties and agreements. We all know the importance of this. We have come to take it for granted in our country. We are a country of inventors, of artists, of entrepreneurs, of creators. So much of our wealth and our uniqueness comes from that.”